The Difference Between Literature and Journalism ~

"Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once."

~ Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise, English critic and writer (1903 - 1974)

Source: The Writer and the Reader, Neil Ewart, 1984, Blandford Press.

Local Author ~ Brad Smith

Sent to check out a budding story about a discovery of lost civil war memorabilia, journalist Amy Morris resents that this assignment is more about her boss' collecting hobby than advancing her career ~

"Dock Bass." "Sounds like a hillbilly action figure," she said unhappily. "How exactly am I supposed to handle this? I don't ever recall Dan Rather showing up at the space center with a pocketful of cash, trying to buy a used shuttle. There are credibility concerns here, Sam."
"Just get close to the situation. Find out what this guy's story is. If it looks as if he'll sell, I'll have somebody there in a heartbeat. I know people in the area. You can keep your distance, do a fascinating little historical piece for the six o'clock and hit the road. But don't think you're going to be the only dog in the hunt. This thing is already attracting a lot of attention, on the Lincoln pictures alone. Throw in the Edison controversy and it'll be Katie-bar-the-door."
"Oh Yeah, it's very exciting," she said and she turned away. "It's the one I've been waiting for, Sam."
~ Busted Flush, Brad Smith, Picador, Pan Books Limited, 2005

Brad Smith will be in The Neat Little Bookshop on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 p.m. His latest book: Red Means Run released this month by Simon & Schuster.

Famous Love Letters ~

"There is only one situation I can think of in which men and women make an effort to read better than they usually do. [It is] when they are in love and reading a love letter."

~ Mortimer Adler (1902 - 2001) American author, philosopher
Famous Love Letters, Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin, Reader's Digest Assoc., Inc., 1995.
"I love you no longer; on the contrary, I detest you. You are a wretch, truly perverse, truly stupid, a real Cinderella. You never write to me at all, you do not love your husband; you know the pleasure that your letters give him yet you cannot even manage to write him half a dozen lines, dashed off in a moment!"

~ Letter Napoleon to Josephine, Spring 1707.

The couple remained married until 1809 when Napoleon had the marriage annulled. (On her death, Napoleon picked violets from Josephine's grave and wore them in a locket around his neck until his death seven years later.)
Napoleon (1769 - 1821), Josephine (1763 - 1814)
~Famous Love Letters, Ronald Tamplin, 1995.
Postcard Collection courtesy of John Walker

Karen Richardson, Curator of the Haldimand County Museum, will be at The Neat Little Bookshop

Thursday, February 2 at 1:30 p.m.

Topic: Romance. Everyone welcome ~ round table discussion. Coffee pot's always on ~ (Do you have a vintage love letter that you would like to share?)

". . . a woman who loves a man would sleep on a board." ~ English novelist, D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930)

D. H. Lawrence has been described as "not only one of the great lyric geniuses of modern literature" but an "expert on lusts, hatreds, emotions that none before dared pursue."
In a letter to his friend, John Murry, Lawrence advises, "...give her a man to be satisfied with ~ and satisfaction is never accomplished even physically unless the man is strongly and surely himself, and doesn't depend on anything but his own being to make a woman love him. You've tried to satisfy Katherine with what you could earn for her, give her: and she will only be satisfied with what you are."
"...you fool, you squander yourself, not for her, but to provide her with petty luxuries she doesn't really want. You insult her. A woman unsatisfied must have luxuries. But a woman who loves a man would sleep on a board."

~ The WORLD'S GREAT LETTERS, Simon & Schuster, 1940 Edited by M. L. Schuster.

Visit With The Author ~ Brad Smith

Author of Big Man Coming Down the Road, One-Eyed Jacks*, Busted Flush, All Hat, Rises a Moral Man and now his sixth book, Red Means Run.

Local author, Brad Smith, will be at The Neat Little Bookshop on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 p.m. signing books.

"For such a furiously funny writer, Smith has great reserves of tenderness."
~ New York Times Book Review

"His characters are drawn with precision and sympathy, and seem as real as any in contemporary fiction."
~ Toronto Star

*One-Eyed Jacks was shortlisted for the Dashiell Hammett and Arthur Ellis Awards. Brad grew up in Canfield, Ontario. He lives in the Dunnville area.

http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/ Photo: Smith signing books at Flyers Cafe in Dunnville ~ L. B. Walker

Greeting Cards Lovingly Handmade by Angie ~

Imagine hours of sitting quietly with scissors, paper and glue. Angie Van Groningen's greeting cards are unquestionably a labour of love. Sparkles and tiny gems artistically placed amid layers of finely crafted images ~ this is the stuff that brings a smile. We have received cards meticulously sewn with golden thread. Whatever the occasion ~ new-baby congrats, anniversary, birthday and get-well wishes ~ Angie has thought of it!

Angie and her husband live in Holland most of the year. Whenever they visit Canada, which is several times a year ~ Angie comes by the bookshop with surprises of tea and a basket of her latest handmade cards. Thank you, Angie, for spreading beautiful thoughts and warm hugs.